Sample Text

Followers

About Me

Friday, 13 April 2012

what is IT

IT(Information Technology)

OVERVIEW:

After decades of slowly expanding behind the scenes, Information technology has suddenly exploded into public view and seems to be every where the popular media. It is like a huge wave that has been building offshore, only to become noticeable as it crests and then breaks on the beach. At the moment, we are all caught in the boiling surf of this breaking wave. It’s almost impossible to avoid media stories on such topics as the Information highway, multimedia, or the internet. These aspects of information technology are just a few thousands of the thousands of ways in which information technology will affect the way we work, live and play.

Information Technology has changed dramatically. Not long ago, information was processed using electrical or mechanical devices such as type writers , calculators, and telephones, which stood by themselves as if on information processing islands. Today, all these devices and procedures have been automated and many of their functions are controlled by built-in microprocessors, computers on chips that give even ordinary devices extraordinary capabilities . But it’s not the individual machines that have been improved. The most dramatic change is how all those old information islands are being connected by digital highways. Once information is created in any form text, sound, pictures, or movies

it can be instantly distribute or changed to any of the forms in a variety of ways.

WHAT’s IT:

The phrase information technology (IT) refers to the creation gathering, processing, storage, and delivery of information and the process and devices that make all this possible. The tasks that are handled using information technology continue to increase almost on a daily basis. For example, a few years ago, cinematography, Photography, didn’t use computers at any point in the process. Now, computers are in cameras, processing labs, and the editing room. No matter what field of study you major in, or where you are employed, you’ll be sure to find information technology at work.

Digital means the computer processes and stores the digital signals that are based on 0 and 1.

Computer means a device that can store and process data based on a set of instructions. The instructions , called a program.

System:

A system is a set of related parts that operate together to

Perform a specific function. You encounter systems

everyday.

Information systems, like all other sytems are assembled

From parts, or components.

People:

who know how to use information technology to enhance

Their Skills and performance regardless of the field they

Are in Like end users, practitioners, directors, managers ..etc.

Data:

A dictionary describes data as individual facts, statistics, or items of information, whatever we call them, data are the raw materials of information processing.

Hardware:

Information technology stands firmly on two legs: hardware and software. The term hardware is applied to nay of the physical equipment in a system, usually containing electronic components and performing some kind of function in information processing. Hardware includes not only the computer and devices such as screens and printers, but also all the elements used to tie information systems together.

Software :

Is instructions that guide the hardware in the performance of it’s duties. There is a slogan button floating around that makes this distinction very clear – “Hardware :the part of the computer that you can kick, If you can only curse at it, it’s software.

Indian IT Experience:

The Indian IT experience can be best understood if it it is divided into three chronologically related parts. The first covers the 60’s and much of 70’s. This was the era of the mainframes and the nearly developed minicomputer. Usage was restricted to large organizations that could afford the large cash expenditures.

The second phase covers the late 70’s to the end of 80’s. It saw the introduction of the PC, the eclipse of the mainframe and the ascendancy of software. It led to the spread of computers in small and medium sized organizations through the development of local manifacture

The third phase covers the post 1991 period.Globalisation was the new term in business and liberalization, the new regular policy. This coincides the expansion of IT into a whole range of products like telephone, notebook computers, multimedia communications and world satellite communications.

IT in INDIA:

Electronics and Information Technology is the fastest growing segment of

indian industry both in terms of production and exports. Today, the electronics industry

is completely delicensed with the exception of aerospace and defence electronics, and alongwith the liberalization in foreign investment and export-import policies of the entire economy, this sector is attracting considerable interest not only as a vast market but also as potential production base by international companies.

In recent times, ‘software development and IT enabled services’ have emerged as a niche opportunity for India in the global context. The Government is taking all necessary steps to make India, a Global Information Technology Superpower and a front-runner in the age of Information Revolution. The Government has announced promotion of Information Technology as one of the five top priorities of the country and constituted a National Task Force on Information Technology and Software Development.

IT IN GOVERNMENT:

Computerisation Government to viable limits should be systematically completed in the next five years. Information Technology plans to be intrinsic to the planning process.The objective of government Information Technology applications should be to deliver services as close to citizens as possible, with minimum intermediation and at affordable cost.Each department/agency in government should be required to prepare an Information Technology Plan with a time perspective of three to five years. This is necessary for planning out applications systematically while keeping in view the fact.We can not have massive use of computers, and IT unless Government also uses extensiv ely computer technology. This is possible only at least 2% of the budget of every ministry or deptt is earmarked to apply IT in that deptt. This will include not only investment in the machines but also training.

Frameworks Contracts:Institutional arrangements will have to be made to guide the process of change in individual government ministries, departments and agencies. The process of securing expert advice from outside government given existing procedures and guidelines, coupled with lack of inhouse capability to evaluate, is found to be a tedious and difficult one. We would therefore, recommend that the National Informatics Centre at the national level and the Technology Service organisations at the state level should, on the lines of the CCTA in the UK, immediately establish ‘Framework Contracts’ with reputed suppliers to provide a wide range of IT consultancy, specialist services and IT products to government agencies. The evaluation of private sector firms could take into account factors such as financial stability, track reocrd and experience, available resources, quality systems, fee rates, discount structures and administration and management systems.

The Present Scenario of IT Industry in INDIA:

The broad picture may not throw up any great surprises. The growth rates and profit figures of software services export companies zoomed to impressive levels. Ofcourse, there is anxiety and speculation about the current year’s performance in this segment, which is in the thick of a slow down in the U.S market.

Infotech in India meant software. And software, in turn, meant software services exporting firms that constituted the bulk of the IT business. They remain the darlings. You’ll also find that the top dozen of the CT 101 companies made up for nearly $% percent of the total industry revenue.

On the global scene, the IT industry went on a roller-coaster ride. As the dotcom phenomenon subsided and sank into a dazed world, internet technology cycles continue to mature, leading experimentation to integration and implementation. The technology backslash spawned across the continents and is gratifyingly taken as a corection. All the same, there is no stopping the technology.From chips to systems, architectures, applications to appliances continued to emerge from innovators tables.New road maps are laid out for different landscapes of technologies.

The credit, of courese, goes to the software services exports segment. It has been five years that the software industry took the mantle from its hardware counterpart to push forward the growth.In 2000-01, the gap has widened even further software industry grossed nearly two-and-half times revenue in hard ware segment, and over 66 percent of the whole industry.Software forum,NASSCOM, expects that by year 2008 IT sostware services and exports will count for 35 percent of the total exports.In 2000-01 nearly 30 software companies exported more than Rs 200 crores worth software services.

IT’s Slow Down In The Market:

Since the US economy slowdown and worldwide dip in IT segement started affecting Indian IT industry.It’s time to sack programmers and managers stop new recrutment, and cut cost remain afloat.De employed programmers are returning from US, and it is a wonder that bio-technology would be a better career option for the forth coming generation.

But “ For the first time, The Indian IT industry crossed the $ 10-billion mark during 2000-01.” The year 2000-01 saw a great thurst to take infotech to the masses, especially in the ural India. On this front the launch of simputer was one of the milestones.This will help in carrying out applications related to microbanking,data collection, agricultural information, scholl laboratories and provide Net access.

DOTcom Struggle:

The dotcom boom reached the Indian shores in 1998-99 in double quick time. The fall hit the country even faster. With no revenue maodels to survive but for VC finding, most pure-play dotcoms dwindled. Some have shut down their site, others hardly update them, while some are still hanging around, hoping to find a buyer or a VC bailout. The Internet Content Rating Association (ICRA) has predicted that only 20 major Indian dotcom firms will survive in the next five years, while Goldman Sachs says that 90 percent of the Indian dotcoms will shut up shop by the end of 2000-01.

How to Overcome The Present Situation:

The demand for IT services will continue to be strong in the coming years. For every firm strategy Is all about becoming unique in the market place.

Cosiderable opportunities will continue to exist in creating customised soft ware as long as business strive for developing a sustainable competetive edge over their peers.

“ Clearly an imporatnt factor in these times is winning and retaining the client’s confidence”.

The increasing importance of India in the IT world . As a result of the performance of the Indian software industry, there is tremendous respect for India in the global technology arena-reflected in in more than 60 percent compound growth in software exports from 1995-2000 and also an increase in the off shore component of these revenues by over 4 percentage points.

Historically, upheavals in any industry have been accompanied by new opportunities for those who are prepared. The India n software industry take advantage of any promising opportunities that may raise.

“ IT industry’s success not only depends on high calibre, self-driven workers, but their effectiveness as a well-knit team.”

New Opportunity Segments:

Now that the days of “Business as usual” are over, what can the new generation of software firms aspire to gain? The opportunities in niche segments that can be focused for best result are:

1.Embedded Systems :- The whole world is moving from net-centric to device- centric and the theme of the day is ubiquitious and seamless communications, from palms to every form of intelligent device. The need for embedded systems can spawn a new generation of programmers and could well employ half the Indian software industry by the end of this decade.

2.Wireless Solutions :- Telecom solutions are passe as the world moves towards newer and newer brews of java, optimized for the new connected world where wires are becoming absolete. European venture capitalist are focusing on wireless opportunities and operators are linig up to support new applications in this space. While there is no doubt that exploiting wireless calls for the development and the sustenance of new skill sets, Indian firms like Tarang are already beginning to make an impact on this space and many more will follow.

3.Web Services :- While there has been a tendency in recent times to throw the internet baby out with the dotcom bathwater, there is still a lot of mileage that visionary organizations can derive by making the web an integral part of their customer access and supply chain strategy. Implementation of robust data warehousing and data mining applications coupled with low cost enterprise integration and extended enterprise solutions on the supply, distribution and customer response dimensions will be the order of the day and opportunities will abound , not just for implementing new E-commerce and M-commerce applications, but also for providing web extensions to existing legacy and ERP product suites.

4.Intelligent Enterprise :- After the sudden rise of interest in expert system, business intelligence, knowledge management and E-learning and the inevitable move from the “peak of inflated expectations” to the “trough of disillusionment”, wisdom is dawning on cost organizations that the real move towards the intelligent enterprises will happen only when every external and internal transactions that occurs is captured through a combination of business intelligence and knowledge management solutions.

It does not mean that traditional opportunities in the areas of offshore development centers, E-commerce and even staffing services are over. They will become the more and more the domain of the big software exporters and international giants like IBM, GE and the like who have firmly entrenched themselves in the Indian landscape.

The Future Holds Promise:

It is true that IT will offer more promising career options than most other fields in spite of the slow down, which in any event is irrelevant for young people who are starting their higher education now. These youngsters would be passing out of any professional IT course in a year, two years or three years from now, by when we will be back to a situation where there is a shortage of talent. Therefore, this phase should be used as an opportunity by the industry and gear up for the growth phase.

Besides, IT has become an all pervasive revolution transcending all industry segments. The International Finance Corporation has stated that the IT industry’s growth , in a climate of minimal governmental controls and regulations, has provided an example of how productivity in all sectors of the Indian economy might be enhanced through the use of IT and the Net. The promise it offers for increased productivity and enhanced economic growth in the future is likely to be significant.

It is no surprise therefore, that notwithstanding the slow down, the industry is expected to spawn over 2 million jobs for IT professional by the end of year 2008. by when it is projected to be worth $87 billion. Since the annual supply of IT engineers is not enough to meet this demand, it is but obvious that IT professionals from other fields and private training institutes will meet this shortfall.

IT Jobs Haven’t Dried Up:

Besides, while it was only the US companies that leveraged the India opportunities earlier, more and more markets are now relying on us to fulfill their IT services requirements. There are reports of a demand for 100,000 software professionals in France, 400,000 in Germany and 30,000 in Austria. New opportunities have emerged in Europe and some note Asian economies such as Japan and China. Singapore is also looking at some 12,000 people. IT jobs definitely haven’t dried up.

So, while IT training industry may currently be going through a period of “wait and watch”, what lie ahead are better times. It will lead to the emergence of a robust industry, growing at a steady pace and offering quality education to provide better talent that can boost all industry segments. All one needs at this point in time is confidence in the future of the industry. Like Bill Gates said at a recent CEO summit in the US, “ The spectacular burst of the dotcom bubble is not the end of the technology boom. It’s only the end of the end of the beginning…. This is the decade when your involvement with computing will be pevasive.”

“The ongoing corrective action may take some time but, at the end, it’ll make for a realistic frame of reference for growth”